3 Agents Plead Guilty To Theft And Cover-up

December 19, 2001|STAFF REPORTS

Three Secret Service agents have pleaded guilty to charges that they lied to prosecutors, stole $1,300 seized from ATM thieves and covered up their crimes.

James Smith, Luis Flores and Manuel Flores pleaded guilty Monday in federal court. The charges stemmed from the arrest of two Venezuelan men charged with stealing thousands of dollars from ATMs in Hallandale Beach and Aventura.

Smith admitted pocketing $1,309 he seized from the men's car. Luis Flores, who is not related to Manuel, was not involved in the October 2000 arrest but was informed of the cover-up and told the informant to stick to the agents' version of events.

The agents worked for the arm of the Secret Service that handles credit card and access-device fraud. Smith faces 10 months in prison, while the Floreses will likely get probation.